Thank you for honoring the charitable lives of Drs. Amira and Mohyee Eldefrawi with a generous donation to support orphans in Egypt finding their loving, forever homes with the help of this legacy fund for Yalla Kafala.

Drs. Mohyee and Amira Eldefrawi (Mo & Molly) met at Alexandria University in 1955, when Mohyee was Molly's TA and wanted to meet the young lady who was getting all the A's on the assignments he was grading. Instantly charmed, he asked his family to be introduced to Molly's Toppozada family, and soon they were approved to be engaged, so they could start dating (with a chaperone, of course, over their 2-year engagement!) After their July 1957 marriage and two-week honeymoon, they left for the United States to work on their Ph. Ds at University of California, Berkeley, from which they graduated in 1961.

The returned to the US for post-doctoral fellowships at Cornell University, and returned to Egypt with a plan to move their young family - now three children - to the US. With Egypt at war, and new laws forbidding anyone with a higher degree to leave the country, Mohyee had strong faith in God and hatched a plan with his colleagues at Cornell. Despite war escalation and even his being drafted into the army at the last minute, he found a way to soon bring Molly and the three children first to Italy, then The Netherlands, and on to Canada while awaiting their US green card application to be approved nearly two years. Luckily, in 1968, the US was in need of skilled scientists, and their US educations, publications, and hard work paid off with an invitation to immigrate to the US.

During their next eight years raising their children in idyllic, and remote Ithaca, NY while at Cornell, then another 27 years in Baltimore, MD at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, they were well known for opening their doors to anyone immigrating and needing a bed, home, job, loan, and friends to help them get started. Mohyee often literally gave the shirt off his back to those he helped, and Molly welcomed their charity and guests. Their guest room and pool house were filled more frequently than not, with visiting friends, nieces and nephews, and colleagues. They hosted a veritable Ellis Island -- first entry point to the US. Mohyee was a frequent honoree of the "Golden Apple" award as a beloved professor, as he loved teaching and mentoring his Ph.D. students, who loved them both back. One year, the medical students spoofed their professors at their annual talent show, with a Sesame Street theme, and Mo and Molly were the Count and Countess, for their Egyptian accents. The nicknames stuck for years.

They loved to socialize and celebrate with friends, and helped participate and lead the Egyptian-American Society of Maryland and merged it with the Arab-American Society of Maryland. Mo loved to cook each year with the ladies for a delicious and fun annual celebration with belly dancer and children playing together throughout the event. Their greatest joy was becoming grandparents in 1989, first with Kendall, and they were very involved babysitting, driving carpool 2-3 times a week, coaching and attending soccer, basketball, baseball, attending school events and ceremonies, piano and violin recitals, and more...

After retiring, in 2003, they moved to Boca Raton, Florida in 2005, near their youngest son, Mohab and his wife and three daughters. In 2010, after Molly's had fallen ill and now required full time care, Mo insisted on caring for "his baby" at home and moved to Egypt where they could enjoy abundant help at home, a devoted driver, Ahmed, who became a great friend after 15 years of loyal service, and of course, being close to family. Mo delighted at being close to his five sisters, brother Ahmed, and many nieces and nephews. He completely renovated and furnished the family farm house, where he was born in 1932. He took great joy in managing and upgrading the farm operations, caring for the 40 acres of 250 orange trees, and grew their beehives to 150 to improve orange yield, and growing a significant honey operation in the process that fed the entire family. He also was very active in charities in Kafr Eldefrawi, the village of 20,000, helping make many repairs (e.g. sewage system, school, family mausoleum, etc.) and donations (e.g. food, blankets, money), and set up the Friends of Kafr Eldefrawi Homeowners Association, inspiring the landowners in the village to support the less fortunate. Their last activity was a new fund for widows and children, to help clothe and feed them beyond the meager social support they received. Everyone in the village knew -- and would often line up to request -- if a surgery or emergency needed financial support, Mohyee would give it.

In January, 2022, after many happy years in Egypt, Molly passed. My father dove even further into his charitable work, but after 65 years of marriage and work together, he missed her very much. Family was the core of how they defined the joy and foundation of life, and Mo and Molly, would be so grateful to know that you are supporting their continued charity in their memory by helping finding loving homes for the orphans -- and beautiful children to love for the caring couples waiting to adopt.

Mo met Rasha Mekky, a true Earth Angel, in November 2024 when she generously and graciously volunteered to escort him on the return flight back to Cairo, after a monthlong visit to attend his granddaughter’s Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. dissertation defense, and to meet his grandson’s first daughter -- the first great-grandchild, now making him a great grandfather! Mo refused to stay in the US where his daughter and grandchildren in California, and full time caretaker, wished he would to stay. Fiercely independent, he insisted on returning to be near his beloved Molly, buried in Kafr Eldefrawi in the family mausoleum, where he now lays, next to her for eternity.

Thank you for your generosity in honoring their memories and charity with your kind donation to Yalla Kafala's Drs. Amira and Mohyee Eldefrawi Memorial Fund for the orphans of Egypt. Our entire family is grateful for honoring us all and helping the children.

Please share your comments or any stories and memories you have, so we can all cherish them.
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Yalla Kafala advocates, educates, and provides resources to ensure orphans find loving families and Kafala families receive the support they need. 💙🏡

Our Impact Together:

👶 7 Children living in the Yalla Kafala House
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 3,000+ Kafala families supported
🤱 455 Kafala mothers in our support group
🧠 350 Mothers/Families received psychological & social support
🍼 177 Breastfeeding pumps provided
🛍️ 8 Garage sales organized for Kafala families
🎉 3,000+ Families participated in our events
📚 1,524 Individuals trained & supported

Every donation helps us create brighter futures! 🌟 Join us in making a difference today.
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Drs. Amira and Mohyee Eldefrawi Children's Fund at Yalla Kafala

By Yalla Kafala

Drs. Amira and Mohyee Eldefrawi Children's Fund at Yalla Kafala

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